Faculty bracing for day of student protests
Unlike some recent student protests that had rather meagre participation, Quebec’s most militant student association is convinced that students will be out in full force for this Thursday’s antiausterity demonstration for one main reason:
They are starting to really feel the impact of the austerity measures in their everyday lives.
“Students really understand what it means now,” said Hind Fazazi, a spokesperson for ASSÉ, which is organizing the protest. “They really understand what we’re fighting; they want to send a clear message to the Liberals that they are against austerity and that they want a massive reinvestment in the public sector.”
After two years of mobilizing around the issue of austerity with some rather tepid results, Fazazi said students now “get” austerity in the same way they understood what the impact of the tuition hikes would be in 2012. They have seen the reduced library hours, the reduced access to teaching assistants, the course cuts and expanding class sizes. And they don’t like it. Some 43,000 university and CEGEP students are poised to strike and hit the pavement in protest on Thursday, with another 17,000 still to take strike votes before Thursday’s demonstration at 1 p.m., according to Fazazi.
At Concordia University on Tuesday, part-time faculty were already bracing for conflicts. The Concordia University Part-Time Faculty Association (CUPFA) issued a statement counselling members how to react if students should block their access to classes and urging students to respect the divergent views on campus.
So far, three associations at Concordia have voted to support the student walkout, with more votes pending, said Terry Wilkings, president of the Concordia Student Union.
“We are raising concerns about structural underfunding and neglect for the social sector,” he said in an interview, adding that he expects it to be a “sizable” demonstration.
CUPFA president David Douglas assured students that teachers feel the impact of “debilitating” cuts as much as they do and that they are not on opposing sides in this battle. Even acts of disobedience can be executed “in a manner that is respectful and tolerant,” he said.
At the same time, Quebec’s CEGEP students are planning local actions to mobilize their ranks against austerity under the theme of “Je sauve mon Cégep.”
According to the Fédération étudiante collégiale du Québec, the province’s colleges have had $149 million slashed from their budgets in the last five years. Universities have also faced steadily increasing cuts, with about $70 million trimmed from the fiscal 2015-16 budget alone.
ASSÉ foresees a $5-billion investment in the public sector if the government enacts five measures, such as fighting tax evasion and raising the tax rate for large businesses to 15 per cent from 11 per cent, said Fazazi.
Even though no McGill University associations voted to support the strike, students from McGill will participate and want to show solidarity, said Emily Boytinck, vice-president of external affairs for the Student Society of McGill University.
“A lot of McGill students feel the impact of austerity,” said Boytinck. “This is something that’s relevant to students everywhere.”